


Aftermath of a Duel

by Rdroigo



Series: Tales from the Hunt [2]
Category: Monster Hunter (Video Games)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:00:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26851078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rdroigo/pseuds/Rdroigo
Summary: After her hunt, the hunter decides to rest for some time and inspect her defeated foe, before going back to town.
Series: Tales from the Hunt [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1924990
Kudos: 4





	Aftermath of a Duel

Decided to rest after such a long combat, the lancer climbed a small ledge to sit on the canyon's shadow. On the ground, just a couple of meters away, was the Daimyo Hermitaur she had managed to defeat. The crab-like creature had its claws broken, and parts of his carapace pierced by her lance. But the most notable part of the creature, the shell it was using, was undamaged on purpose.

The Hermitaur, as a species, are reddish Carapaceons that live in tropical climates and usually near water. Normally, these creatures grow a pale hard shell by themselves, which they use to protect their relatively fragile bodies. But when one of these animals grows much larger and gains the name of Daimyo Hermitaur, the shell they carried up until then becomes too small to be of any use. So, they seek a replacement by searching and digging up the old bones of another monster, the Monoblos. These creatures have a long, spiraled horn on their noses and a large frill adorning the back of their skulls, and so the Daimyo Hermitaur takes home in one of these as a mean to defend itself, by either retreating into the hard skull to block attacks, or using the horn as a weapon by charging backwards into its aggressor.

This was exactly the prize she was looking for. Normally, the best strategy is to lure the monster to charge against a hard wall, which could cause the horn to break, essentially removing one of the biggest weapons the Daimyo has. But this time, the lancer needed it intact.

The horn of a Monoblos is the perfect material to craft a new weapon for herself, to make the base of a more durable and deadly lance, while also using the rest of the skull for parts to make a sturdy shield. The rest of the Daimyo Hermitaur is useful as well: after separating the pieces, she could use the carapace as material for armor, or sell them in the city market to make some money for other supplies. The meat inside the monster was also a good source of income, so this would be a profitable hunt in the end.

And so, after resting for some time, the lancer stood up and shaked the sand off her armor. Taking a small pistol from her bag, she shot a flare up to the skies through the opening of the canyon where she killed the creature, to signal her location to one of the Guild's globes which were circulating the zone. This desertic valley was an active hunting ground and as such, was heavily regulated by the Guild to make a recount of the species that lived in here, or migrated in or out of the valley. They were the ones in charge of managing the number of monsters in the zone, and post the assignments to hunt individuals who became problematic for the ecosystem, either by overpopulation, high aggression, external invasion or reiterated conflict with nearby human settlements. Because the mission of the Guild was not only to protect humanity, but also the monsters, hunting without an official contract was illegal and heavily discouraged, for the Guild would not doubt on using force on these renegade hunters and sent their Knights to arrest them immediately, or worse.

By signaling her position, she was announcing the end of her hunt, and soon a group would arrive to check her contract and help in the transport of the corpse to a nearby town, where they could easily work on it to remove all the usable parts. For now, the lancer would have to stand guard over the body to defend it from scavengers until help comes.

She often enjoyed these moments, having some time for herself to drop the act of a rough hunter and relax. Her usual hunting party was doing another quest, surely preparing for the rumored selection in the next expedition, so she decided to do the same on her own. Accustomed to being the one protecting the party, the lance and shield she carried was getting more and more damaged over time, so the lancer decided it was the moment for an upgrade. She walked around the dead Daimyo Hermitaur to inspect it, while humming a simple song to pass the time.

First, she checked the claws. Big and wide, these ones were tough for her to break and gave the beast an impressive defense on the front, while also being dreadful weapons on its own. But she managed to crack them, and now the white meat of their interior was visible to her. Perhaps it could be used for a meal after tearing it apart?

Then, she moved a bit around to check the legs. Just as the claws, the inside of these were filled with good meat that was sought by the felyne chefs to use in their kitchens. These were powerful, capable of moving around the giant skull with relative ease, and even able to allow the beast to jump into the air, to then slam its body on the ground.

The main body of the creature was severely damaged from the fight, filled with fractures along the carapace and some holes made by her lance. Surely the interior was usable, as was the rest of the monster, but the exterior would have to be used in bits instead of big pieces. With some luck, she could find one of the rumored pearls these animals are said to make.

After that, she inspected the head. One of the antennas was broken in the fight, but the rest seemed to be in good condition. The water sac of this creature would surely be intact. The Daimyo Hermitaur contains a special sac that stores large quantities of water, which the beast can shoot as a pressurized beam to attack its aggressors. Not even hiding behind her shield protected her, for the force of such pressure surely sended her flying backwards after her first and last attempt to block it.

Lastly, she circled around the animal to inspect the skull of the Monoblos. The improvised shell of the Daimyo was in an almost pristine condition, only damaged by the sand of the zone. During her fight, she has evaded any attempt to attack the skull or cause the creature to hit a wall with it. Mostly because she wanted it intact, but also because her lance would have no chance against it, simply bouncing on it and threatening to damage the weapon.

_"You gave me a good fight, I'll make sure your death is not in vain."_ She softly patted on the corpse for a moment before saluting it, in a more formal display, recognizing him as the good rival it was. This kind of chivalry was unusual between hunters, so the lancer kept it mostly to herself and only let it slip out when she was alone. She once tried to show a bit of that to her party, but some of their looks made her regret it immediately and turn back to her more silent persona.

Once she was done inspecting the body, her attention focused on the zone and it's entrance. These hunting grounds were made out by three notable sections: The biggest one is the long river canyon that makes the majority of the grounds, then there’s a small network of cold caves under the zone, and lastly a good portion of dunes that are only the beginning of a vast desert. Only a part of the dunes is inside the grounds, but even that small section of desert is hot enough to take down anyone unprepared. On the contrary, the freezing caves under the canyons are so cold that they can sap away the heat of anyone who doesn’t take precautions. So, most of the creatures that live in these hunting grounds tend to stay inside the canyons all day, gathering on the zones where the river crosses and some vegetation can grow.

She has managed to lure the Daimyo Hermitaur away from the desert and into one of the entrances of the canyon. So now, in this fresh place protected from the scorching sun, the lancer leaned against the Daimyo and resumed her humming, waiting for the Guild to arrive.


End file.
